Elected Officials Boycott Interviews News Outlet To Support NABET-CWA Members

As bargaining for their first union contract continues into a third year, National Association of Broadcasting Employees and Technicians (NABET)-CWA members at WROC-TV, a regional CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group, received a powerful show of support from local elected officials. The Democratic New York State Delegation representing Monroe County, NY has pledged to boycott any one-on-one interviews with WROC-TV until Nexstar Media Group bargains in good faith with the Union. 

Workers WROC-TV voted to join the Union in February 2023, but the TV broadcasting company — worth over $1 billion — has dragged their feet at the bargaining table. A recent report released by NABET-CWA lays out the brutally low wages at 14 Nexstar-owned news stations across the country, and the impact this is having on newsroom staff who struggle to make ends meet. 

The move by Monroe County legislators is a bold act of solidarity, withholding important access to elected officials until management comes to the table ready to bargain. 

“Over two years of this blatant stalling and ignoring of democracy in the workplace is why the Union feels the company no longer has the right to ask elected officials for one-on-one interviews," said NABET-CWA Local 22 Vice President Johnny Nixon. "These are the people that understand elections and why they matter. How would a nation function if elected officials were not allowed to take office, let alone do the work?”